Not everyone is a fan of the flag or military or the people who serve. Sure, there are other ways of showing that, but I don't see how this warrants an INTERNET SEARCH PARTY

I half agree - I hate the blind support-our-troops, yer-either-with-us-or-against-us, if-you-hate-war-then-you-hate-freedom mentality that this country has sometimes. But at the same time, even of those symbols of remembrance don't necessarily mean much to one person, he should know that they mean a hell of a lot to others.

TORONTO - Toronto Police are calling the vandalism of a west-end war memorial "a hate crime."

A woman walking Sunday night by the sculpture in Coronation Park -- at the foot of Strachan Ave. and Lakeshore Blvd. W. -- called police after noticing someone had taken a black marker and written "Canada will burn; Praise Allah" on the memorial.

"This is an identifiable group," Det. Anthony Williams told reporters at the scene Monday. "The veterans should be respected. That's a total disrespect for our sworn members and military members who have made the ultimate sacrifice."

At the Remembrance Day ceremony at Old City Hall Sunday morning, anti-war protesters were heard chanting during the two minutes of silence.

Williams said he couldn't speculate whether the vandalism was related to the protest.

"I can't speculate as to what their motivation is, but if they did this on Nov. 10 or 11, someone is looking for an opportunity to draw attention to themselves," he said.

City cleaners scrubbed the offensive black lettering off the memorial.